Courtesy of Natalie Jolin
Audio By Carbonatix
It’s not uncommon to hear from Denver restaurant owners bemoaning the price of real estate. But landlords have their share of beef as well. Let’s face it, as much as we love our homegrown bars, cafes and diners, sometimes they don’t pay rent.
Take the space at the iconic address of 5280 West 25th Avenue in Edgewater. Great neighborhood, corner spot and a street number to die for. But for landlord Natalie Jolin, finding a stable tenant has proven harder than expected after she inherited the property from her father in 2023.
“I have this bar that I inherited, and want to keep it in the family, to continue on my dad’s legacy,” she says, “but I just want someone in here that’s going to take care of the place and to find a good tenant that actually pays rent, that actually goes through the right steps to get their liquor license, and that is going to give it the TLC that it needs.”
The historic building has played host to a string of businesses over its 100+ years, including a barbecue joint and a tiki bar. Jolin’s father, Jeff, bought the space 25 years ago to establish the Okoboji Inn. While he sold the bar, he kept ownership of the building. What followed was another string of revolving door businesses.
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The most stable of the group was the Providence Tavern, which operated for about a decade before closing in 2019. New management then tried to revive it as Providence at 5280, which made it through the construction project that tore up 25th Avenue in early 2024, but shut down that November — over a year ago.
“Westword ran an article about it, and that’s how I heard they shut down,” Jolin says. “And his check bounced. … We have bills, too. And when people don’t pay rent, it really hurts us landlords.”
The space has not been operational since. Although a new business owner came in February, Jolin says that concept officially opened, received complaints from the city, and the checks soon stopped coming. Now the address is vacant once again.
It would be tempting to blame the location, the building or even the landlord for such woes. But Jolin also owns the space directly next door, where US Thai Cafe has been for decades.
“They get a smoking deal,” she notes. “They’ve made the same payment for (several) years, so I’m very flexible and workable. I hear a lot of other commercial landlords might not be, but I’m just trying to look at the long game and hope for the success of the tenant. They stay and pay and enjoy being there.”
Offered with a rent of over $46 a square foot per year, the 5280 space isn’t exactly a steal: At over 2,000 square feet, that’s $8,000 a month. But the rent covers all taxes, insurance and other expenses, save snow removal and utilities (known as a “modified gross” lease, versus a “triple net” lease, where the tenant pays for pretty much everything). Depending on the tenant, there’s also a possibility of slowly scaling the rent up over the opening months or deferring rent before the full rate is established.
“I want to help them succeed, because I want them to stay long term,” Jolin says. “I’m not going to bug you. I’ll send business your way. I just want them to feel that they have the autonomy to do what they want to do in this place, as long as they treat it with care.”
